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Pocket Wizard equivalent? Help please

Hiljon
Posted 14/01/2010 - 19:49 Link
Hi.

I want to trigger my 360 off a K200D. Is their a P.Wizard equivalent for the Pentax K200D .. and if so ... where is it available preferably on-line in the UK ... your help would be very much appreciated.

Thanks Lewis
Anvh
Posted 14/01/2010 - 20:19 Link
Hi Lewis, do you mean with P-TTL contacts or is using the flash in manual or auto mode good enough?
Stefan
Comment Image

K10D, K5
DA* 16-50, DA* 50-135, D-FA 100 Macro, DA 40 Ltd, DA 18-55
AF-540FGZ
Hiljon
Posted 15/01/2010 - 00:36 Link
Anvh wrote:
Hi Lewis, do you mean with P-TTL contacts or is using the flash in manual or auto mode good enough?

Really what I want to do is to fire the flash off the shoe but not using the pop-up to trigger it ... Pref using manual. Thanks
bretti_kivi
Posted 15/01/2010 - 06:30 Link
there's a discussion about Cactus v4s elsewhere: they are functional in most situations, but cold they don't like.
Skyports are available directly from (for example) the flash centre; they're not cheap, though.

Bret
my pics: link
my kit: K3, K5, K-01, DA 18-55, D-FA50 macro, Siggy 30/1.4, 100-300/f4, 70-200/2.8, Samsung 12-24/f4, Tamron 17-50, and lots of other bits.
Anvh
Posted 15/01/2010 - 11:36 Link
Yes that was me about the Cactus v4 and there is a lot about it on Pentaxforums.com
Most of the time they work like they should and in cold weather they might misfire because of the batteries getting cold and the Pentax AF540FGZ has the biggest problem of all it seems. Going to try other batteries (lithium) and see how they work.
But most of the time with other flashes they work well.

I don't know how well they work with the AF360FGZ, all i can do is report back if they work well with other batteries with the AF540FGZ.
At least the Cactus aren't that expensive other systems can cost 4 or 5 times as much easily.
Stefan
Comment Image

K10D, K5
DA* 16-50, DA* 50-135, D-FA 100 Macro, DA 40 Ltd, DA 18-55
AF-540FGZ
Edited by Anvh: 15/01/2010 - 11:37
Don
Posted 15/01/2010 - 15:35 Link
I use elinchrom skyports, love 'em.
there was one member here that just hated 'em due to a banding issue...
I came accross an article recently about the odd camera having a "slow" or outside spec shutter defect, being hard to spot untill you start getting a dark band accross your images at max sutter synch speed, and it made me wonder about the other fella here that was having difficulties with elinchrom slaves... but I digress....

chemical handwarmers taped or rubberbanded to the battery compartments do help in extreme cold BTW...
Fired many shots. Didn't kill anything.
Edited by Don: 15/01/2010 - 15:38
Anvh
Posted 15/01/2010 - 18:05 Link
amoringello had some problems Don, here I explain also my problems. link

It also depends on the flash you use, I had problems with my AF540FGZ and a very cheap lumopro synced to 1/180 without a hitch.

It seems that the Pentax flashes just need a bit more charge to trigger them.
Stefan
Comment Image

K10D, K5
DA* 16-50, DA* 50-135, D-FA 100 Macro, DA 40 Ltd, DA 18-55
AF-540FGZ
Don
Posted 15/01/2010 - 18:25 Link
My experience with the skyports has been nothing but happiness.
with my elinchrom strobes, my 360ftz flashes and my vivitar flashes... all good..
however I usually shoot at 1/160 sec and slower never really tried 1/180 or faster...
I still shoot with k10's and a ds2...
Fired many shots. Didn't kill anything.
Edited by Don: 15/01/2010 - 18:25
Anvh
Posted 15/01/2010 - 19:24 Link
Don, I also hear someone who is happy with the skyport on the dutch forum but I can't say nothing about them since I don't use them.

Don, how do you connect the skyport to your flashguns, probably a 3.5mm jack to Hotshoe adapter or not?
Stefan
Comment Image

K10D, K5
DA* 16-50, DA* 50-135, D-FA 100 Macro, DA 40 Ltd, DA 18-55
AF-540FGZ
Edited by Anvh: 15/01/2010 - 19:30
Don
Posted 15/01/2010 - 19:39 Link
Anvh wrote:
Don, I also hear someone who is happy with the skyport on the dutch forum but I can't say nothing about them since I don't use them.

Don, how do you connect the skyport to your flashguns, probably a 3.5mm jack to Hotshoe adapter or not?

being the cheap SOB I am, I made my own.
I bought a couple cheap (kaiser perhaps, not about to go look, I'm editing video in another room right now) hotshoe adaptors with pc connectors and some phono plugs from an electronics store and soldered my own.

they cost me about $10.00 each and have a tripod socket..
Comment Image
Fired many shots. Didn't kill anything.
amoringello
Posted 29/01/2010 - 22:23 Link
Hate to dwell on Skyports, but the timing is just rather funny...

After about a year and a half of fairly light usage, (maybe less than 2000-3000 firings), my Skyports stopped working. OK, I am a bit disappointed in the quality, but they have a two year warranty so I sent them back for repair.

Three weeks later I get a call stating that Elinchrom says it will cost me $150 to fix them since they were outside the ONE YEAR warranty period.

Luckily I went through the store from which I purchased them, and he pulled out a new set out of the box to look up the warranty card. Yep, two year warranty, even on new units. (so it is not an innocent mistake due to a change in policy)

So now the store owner has to fight with Elinchrom to get my repair done under warranty!

The company has proven to me time and time again that their products, and to an even greater extent their service, are just abysmal! This may have been a quality company at one time, but they do not treat their customers well.

I would highly suggest being wary of Elinchrom. It is possible, of course, that I am the only one that has been screwed by them multiple times... but the odds are unlikely.

I'm glad they're working out for you Don. I have actually heard a lot of good things about them before I bought them. Sadly, I got bad set of Skyports... (and a bad set of strobes, and bad tech support, and bad warranty service)

Anyway, buyer beware.
amoringello
Posted 04/02/2010 - 22:52 Link
STAY AWAY FROM ELINCHROM

He, he, he,
Well, Elinchrom would not accept the store owner's explanation that the warranty was good for two years.
Elinchom wanted HIM to FAX them the page from their own manual that states the warranty is in fact for two years. These creeps could not even look up their own literature!!

OK he sent them the fax of their own paperwork and a A few days later I got my Skyports back.

Now, the receiver will not even power on. I charged it for a few hours until the charge light turned off.
Still will not work.

So Elinchrom sent me a unit in WORSE shape than when it went out!


STAY AWAY FROM ELINCHROM
Anvh
Posted 04/02/2010 - 23:26 Link
Well cactus was very nice to me.

Dear Stefan,

You're welcome. Thank you also for your valuable feedback and information
provided as we were not previously aware that the Cactus V4 may have
compatibility issue with this flash model.

This matter is very strange indeed as from our in house testing, the we were
able to use our Pentax AF-540FGZ flash and V4 up to the maximum sync speed
limited by the camera manufacturer (e.g. 1/160s for Sony and 1/250s for
Canon).

However our testing conditions is under 10-30°C in humid weather, as pointed
out by the forum thread, the instability with AF-540FGZ may be due
to weather effect. We will ensure to examine the effect of cold weather
(say below 0°C) on the stability and sync speed of V4. It is possible that
this is not caused by temperature or humid condition but by regional or lot
variations of the flash. We will ensure look into this and make amends to
our listing appropriately.

Thank you again for your understanding and feedback. We hope to see you
again in the future!

Best regards,
Darren Chan
Gadget Infinity


In an email earlier I could get the product refunded, since it did fire the flash all the time I'll have a play with it a bit more hoping I can get it to work.
Stefan
Comment Image

K10D, K5
DA* 16-50, DA* 50-135, D-FA 100 Macro, DA 40 Ltd, DA 18-55
AF-540FGZ
Anvh
Posted 05/02/2010 - 00:04 Link
So what are the other altenatives besides, Cactus, Elinchrom and Pocket wizard?

I don't want those very high things like the Cactus v2 or the kind you see on ebay most of the time
Stefan
Comment Image

K10D, K5
DA* 16-50, DA* 50-135, D-FA 100 Macro, DA 40 Ltd, DA 18-55
AF-540FGZ
bretti_kivi
Posted 05/02/2010 - 06:40 Link
I remember seeing several variations on the theme. Radio poppers are one and these http://www.warehouseexpress.com/buy-seculine-twinlink-t2d-transmitter-and-receiv... another.

Bret
my pics: link
my kit: K3, K5, K-01, DA 18-55, D-FA50 macro, Siggy 30/1.4, 100-300/f4, 70-200/2.8, Samsung 12-24/f4, Tamron 17-50, and lots of other bits.

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